MHF 1

Chapter 1

The rain that had been pouring down for three straight days had finally begun to let up.

I looked down at the hem of my completely soaked mourning dress and blamed the sky. If only the sun had been warm, would I have felt a little better by now?

I had been standing absentmindedly in the empty house before finally collapsing onto the cold sofa. My body, already on the verge of exhaustion, was desperately demanding rest.

And no wonder. For the past three days, I had barely eaten or slept. It had been an exhausting ordeal that was more than enough to push my body to its limits.

Even so, I couldn’t easily fall asleep. I couldn’t see how I was supposed to live from now on. I had no confidence that I could stay alone in this enormous, eerie house.

I remembered the last conversation I had with my husband in this house. It had been our first wedding anniversary.

Although we had been husband and wife for an entire year, my husband, who had always been more awkward with me than a stranger, had said something that seemed strangely significant.

—No matter what happens, protect this house.

It was so dry and utterly unromantic that I could hardly believe those were words exchanged on a wedding anniversary.

Thinking about it now, it almost seemed as though he had known what fate awaited him.

Yet I was the one who knew better than anyone that this couldn’t possibly have been true. If he had known his fate, something like this never would have happened.

What had he meant?

What had he intended?

Hot tears rolled down between my closed eyes.

I think I had been sadder over the past three days than I had realized.

People had done nothing but whisper about me. They said that the enormous inheritance had all become mine. That I was such a lucky woman.

But rather than feeling happy that I had inherited everything, I was consumed by the despair of knowing that I would never see him again.

Only after everything was over did I realize that what I had felt for him wasn’t merely curiosity. And now that everything was over, I would probably never even be able to confess these feelings.

At that moment, the white ribbon I had been wearing in my hair slipped loose and fell.

I gently touched its ticklish end before covering my burning face with both hands.

The voices of the mourners who had pitied me for becoming a widow at such a young age clung to my ears and refused to leave.

Because of that, I couldn’t forget for even a moment that I had lost my husband. Every second, I had to acknowledge the tragedy that had befallen me and force myself to accept it.

As I sobbed for a long while, the sound of the doorbell suddenly cut through the silence of the house.

Startled by the unexpected situation, I hurriedly got to my feet.

A strange sense of fear made the hairs on my body stand on end.

There was no one left who should be coming to this house.

“……Who is it?”

“Open the door.”

It was the moment when my growing fear reached its peak.

Unbelievably, the voice coming from beyond the front door belonged to my dead husband.

I had seen him buried in the cold earth with my own two eyes.

“It’s me.”

Who are you?

The first place Sua met her husband, Hajin, had not been a blind date.

Several months before that, the two of them had happened to meet and exchange greetings by pure chance.

Of course, at the time, Sua could never have imagined that the arrogant heir to a weapons company would become her husband.

The event had been hosted by ‘LOW,’ a globally renowned weapons manufacturer, for war veterans, and virtually every military official had been required to attend.

Sua, who was serving as a lieutenant in the Army at the time, was no exception.

In particular, her family was an honorable military family that had produced distinguished generals for generations. Her grandfather had even served briefly as Minister of National Defense, so the family was quite prestigious.

As a result, Sua’s attendance at the event carried symbolic significance, and that was ultimately why she had been pressured by her superiors into spending her time at this tedious gathering.

“Lieutenant Chae!”

As Sua stared blankly at the hands of the clock moving endlessly, a familiar voice called out to her.

Sua immediately sprang to her feet and turned around.

“Come over here for a moment.”

It was Lieutenant Colonel Shin Cheol-woo, who had always treated Sua well.

“Yes, sir.”

Without any suspicion, Sua approached Lieutenant Colonel Shin Cheol-woo, only to find herself face-to-face with a tall man.

Judging by the fact that he wasn’t wearing a military uniform, he appeared to be someone from ‘LOW.’

He was dressed in a suit buttoned all the way to his neck, though Sua could tell that there was probably quite a solid physique underneath it.

His flawless skin, high nose, and red lips were particularly striking.

Was there someone like this at ‘LOW’?

She found it strange, but that was as far as her interest went. She assumed he belonged to a completely different world from her and therefore had nothing to do with her.

“I’ve wanted to introduce you to him for a while. This is Executive Director Do Hajin. He’d been living abroad until recently and just returned to Korea. He’s also the man designated to become ‘LOW’s’ next heir after Chairman Do-young.”

Sua lowered her head politely.

Then Lieutenant Colonel Shin introduced Sua to Hajin.

“This is Lieutenant Chae Sua. She’s the granddaughter of former Minister Chae Jeong-ho. The two of you will probably cross paths often from now on. Why don’t you get to know each other?”

Just as Sua had done moments earlier, Hajin openly observed her.

Despite her youthful face, there wasn’t a single wrinkle in the military uniform she wore, and there was discipline in her eyes.

For some reason, at that moment, he smiled in a way that Sua couldn’t understand.

But it lasted for only an instant, so neither Sua nor Lieutenant Colonel Shin noticed it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve really wanted to meet you.”

Instead of bowing to Sua, Hajin extended his hand as if asking for a handshake.

The space between Sua’s eyebrows narrowed.

“……Me?”

“Yes. I’ve always respected Minister Chae Jeong-ho very much.”

Liar.

There wasn’t the slightest bit of sincerity in Hajin’s words. What’s more, he didn’t even bother trying to hide it.

“Then, Lieutenant Chae, why don’t you have a little chat with Executive Director Do? I’ll go see the colonel.”

Completely oblivious to the subtle battle of wills between the two, Lieutenant Colonel Shin disappeared with a satisfied expression.

Sua let out a small sigh.

I was planning to behave myself and leave when this was over. Now I’ve got a headache to deal with.

“Would you please take my hand?”

Hajin spoke softly as he watched Sua. His hand was still extended toward her.

After thinking for a moment, Sua shook her head.

“I’ll pass on the handshake. There’s no particular reason for Executive Director Do and me to become close.”

Rather than looking awkward at her words, Hajin actually seemed intrigued.

“Don’t you have any ambition for promotion, Lieutenant Chae?”

“Even if I get promoted, I’ll do it on my own merits. It has nothing to do with your company.”

“Just as I’d heard. You’re very much like your grandfather.”

Hajin’s words fell somewhere between a compliment and a sarcastic remark.

As a result, Sua’s expression hardened even further.

“Honorable and refined.”

“You’re very much like your father, too, Executive Director Do. Arrogant and carefree.”

They had only exchanged a few words, but Sua could already tell that she and the man standing before her were different in every possible way.

“Interesting.”

Well, it wasn’t unexpected.

The two of them had grown up in completely different environments, and they would be living in completely different worlds from then on.

“You don’t seem to like our company. Because of all the corruption? Because there’s something shady going on behind the scenes?”

Hajin, whose lack of morality was not considered much of a flaw, and Sua, who had to be more moral and honest than anyone else, were simply too fundamentally opposed. It seemed impossible for the two of them to ever narrow the gap between them.

“But can the military function without our company?”

“…….”

His words had struck directly at the heart of the matter, leaving Sua unable to offer any rebuttal. Her lips merely parted and closed again.

Hajin burst into laughter, apparently finding the whole thing terribly amusing.

He looked almost like a child who had discovered an interesting new toy.

Sua felt that if she stayed any longer, she would only end up getting drawn into his game, so she quickly gave him a polite nod and turned to leave.

“Lieutenant Chae Sua.”

But apparently, Hajin had no intention of letting her go just yet.

His red lips clearly articulated Sua’s name.

He wasn’t her superior, so she could have easily ignored him.

Yet, as though she had been caught under some mischievous spell, Sua turned her head toward him.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

“…….”

“Privately would be fine, too.”

He said it in a confident voice.

That confidence must have been backed by something.

After briefly considering what answer she should give him, Sua replied firmly.

“No.”

She looked straight at him.

“There won’t be any reason for Executive Director Do and me to meet privately.”

Then Hajin suddenly reached his arm toward Sua.

Caught completely off guard by the unexpected movement, Sua instinctively went on alert.

Her trained body naturally prepared itself to strike a vital point if necessary.

But Hajin’s hand wasn’t heading toward her body.

It was heading toward her beret.

His long fingers adjusted the slightly crooked angle of her beret.

Only then did Sua’s uniform look completely perfect.

Hajin smiled with satisfaction before suddenly leaning toward her ear and speaking.

“Don’t be so sure.”

The cold scent of his perfume reached Sua’s senses, sharp and intense.

He was so close that their bodies could almost touch, and Sua instinctively held her breath.

Hajin leisurely watched her flustered reaction before continuing in a low voice.

“You never know what the future holds, do you?”